Vehicle-wheel.



No. 689,37l. Patented Dec. l7, I90l.

R. U. STUTSMAN. I

VEHICLE WHEEL.

ApplicM-ion filed July 16, 1897.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

REUBEN O. STUTSMAN, OF DES MOINES, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO THE BAR- THOLOMEWCOMPANY, OF DES MOINES, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,371, dated December17, 1901. Application filed July 16,1897. Serial No. 644.800. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, REUBEN O. STUTSMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-WVheels; and Ido declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

Figure l is a vertical transverse section taken immediately after therim, the spokes, and the hub-pieces have been assembled. Fig. 2 is avertical section through the hub, showing the parts at the time of theintroduction of the inner or skein tube. Fig. 3 is a view similar toFig. 1 after the parts have been fastened together, and Fig. 4 is a sideview of the complete wheel.

The wheel shown in the drawings has a rim at A, which is of the concavo-convex sort now commonly used, particularly in the-manufacture ofwheels having rubber or pneumatic tires. The spokes are indicated by BB. Those at B are connected with the central hub-piece C, and thealternate ones at B are connected with the other hub-piece C. The spokesat their outer ends 0 are upset or headed and pass from the outer sideof the rim through radial apertures c to transverse apertures c in thehub-plates O C'. The inwardly-projecting ends at o are bent in theaperture 0, and the metal is flattened or upset in such way as to insurea perfectly firm and uniform fastening. Up to this point the wheel ismade in a mechanism which I have devised and by which the tire and thehubpieces are placed practically perfectly concentric and uniform indistance fromeach other, and the spokes are firmly secured.

After the manufacture has been carried to the point described I finishthe construction of the hub part as follows:

D is a spacing and strengthening tube or thimble which is placed betweenthe disks or hub-plates C O, the latter being preferably shouldered orsocketed in such way as to have this tube firmly held and maintainedconcentrically with the axis.

E is the central or skein tube, smaller in diameter than the tube D, itsexternal diameter being such that it fits snugly in the apertures in thedisks O C and also in the interior of the tube D. The tube D is cut to alength so that it separates the headpieces C O to such an extent as togive exactly the right tension to the spokes B B, and the tube E is cutto exactly the length that will equal the total width of the hub. At Fthe hubplates 0 O are rabbeted or flared, and afterthe tube E has beeninserted the metal at its ends is spun, flared, or upset, so as tooccupy the chamber of the rabbet or flare at F and in this way is firmlylocked itself and in turn binds together the other parts of the huh.

I am aware of the fact that hubs and wheels of various sorts have beenheretofore made or proposed each having two spoke-carriers at the innerends of the spokes and each having a tubular skein of one form oranother; but I believe myself to have devised the simple,cheaply-constructed, strong, and durable wheel having the features shownand above described. Thus it has been proposed to bend the inner ends ofspokesinto grooves or recesses formed in the ends of a tubular hub andto lock the spokes in such grooves or recesses by means of caps or endpieces adapted to engage the ends of the hub and to be rigidly connectedtogether by a tubular core; but in such a construction as that justreferred to it was necessary to disconnect the end or cap pieces inorder to remove any spoke, whereas in my construction each becomesconnected with the hub independently of every other spoke in the seriesand can therefore be readily removed without afiecting the other partsof the wheel. Again, in the earlier construction referred to there wasnothing similar to the spacing-tube D herein, by which the disks 0 Oareproperly separated after the spokes have been connected therewith togive the proper tension to the spokes.

What- I claim isl. Awheel having in combination a rim, a hub-tube, D,two hub-disks on said tube, each disk having a series of radialapertures and a series of apertures or sockets transverse thereto, andspokes each having its inner end passing through one of said radialapertures and then bent into one of said transverse sockets orapertures, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the rim, a plurality of hub-disks each havingspoke-apertures and an axial aperture, tension-spokes engaging said rim,extending into said spoke-apertures and attached directly to the disks,a transverse skein-tube E fitting in said axial apertures of the disksand engaging the latter to prevent their outward movement, and aspacing-tube having a central aperture surrounding said skein-tube andengaging the inner faces of the disks to prevent their inward movement.

3. The combination of the rim, a plurality of hub-disks each formed of asolid integral piece having spoke-apertures and an axial aperture,tension-spokes engaging the rim, extending into said spoke-apertures andattached directly to said disks, a transverse skein-tube E fitting insaid axialapertures and engaging the disks to prevent their outwardmovement, and a spacing-tube having a central aperture fitting on saidskein-tube and engaging the inner faces of said disks to prevent theirinward movement.

4. The combination of the rim, a plurality of hub-disks each formed of asolid integral piece having spoke-apertures, an axial aperture andrecesses or shoulders on their inner faces, tension-spokes engaging saidrim, extending into said spoke-apertures and attached directly to saiddisks, a transverse skein-tube E fitting in said axial apertures andengaging said disks to prevent their outward movement, and aspacing-tube having a central aperture fitting on said skein-tube andengaging said shoulders on the disks.

5. A Wheel having in combination a rim, tension-spokes having theirouter ends connected with the rim, hub-disks attached to the inner endsof said spokes, spacing-tube D adapted to be introduced between saiddisks after the attachment of the spokes as aforesaid to spread saiddisks and tighten the spokes, said disks and tube being interlocked andcentered directly with each other against displacement in radialdirections and the transverse skein-tube E passing throughsaidspacing-tube and disks and attached to the latter, substantially asset forth.

6. A wheel having in combination a rim, tension-spokes having theirouter ends connected with the rim, hub-disks attached to the inner endsof said spokes, a spacing-tube between said disks, spreading the sameand adapted to give said spokes the necessary tension, said disks andtube having at their meeting portions short engaging and centeringflanges, whereby said tube may be introduced between the disks after theattachment of the spokes to said rim and disks and may be held inengagement with said disks against displacement in radial directions,and the skein-tube E passing through said spacing-tube and disks andattached to the latter, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

REUBEN O. STUTSMAN.

